Starting Stronglifts and out of shape

718mom

I attempted to start Stronglifts once but got discouraged and have a few questions and could use some advice.

I'm the most out of shape I've ever been after not exercising and gaining 40 pounds in the past 2 years due to injuries, health problems, and slacking on proper nutrition. I also have more body aches and joint pain probably due to weight gain/lack of exercise but also possibly fibromyalgia. I also have adrenal fatigue.

I feel terrible all the time and want to exercise but know I need to take it slow. It sometimes can take me days to recover after a day of walking for a few hours. At the moment I practice yoga 2-3x a week which makes me feel great. I also believe once I get started on a program I'll probably start to feel so much better.

I am really eager to get into a lifting program but can't afford a trainer and have a membership to the YMCA. Unfortunately the trainers on-site are not very knowledgeable.

When I tried Stronglifts (once), some of the exercises felt too heavy and hard and I had to do empty bars or dumbells. Is there something I should be doing before diving into the program? Am I too out of shape to do Stronglifts? Is there a way to do it modified to build up to the program? Is there something else I should do instead?

It's so depressing to be this out of shape but I'm super motivated to get started towards optimal health.

singingflutelady

You are supposed to start with an empty bar or less for SL. I say go for it

ninerbuff

Strength is relative to the person doing it. You start with what you can do and progress.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Smallc10

When I started I couldn't do the olympic bars so I started with just using the preloaded bars that our gym has for squats and deadlifts - around 25 lbs for the max there) and then other things I ended up using dumbbells and working my way up slowly. I now am doing olympic bar, up to around 100lbs for deadlifts and squats and doing 75 for my benches. It just takes a while I also found I couldn't increase the weights as often as they wanted you to, so I've been progressing more slowly. It's okay though! Start where you can and work your way up. Also listen to your body, it knows best.

jemhh

Try bodyweight training for several weeks to start. The Nerd Fitness beginner bodyweight workout is a good start and you can find it via Google. Dial it way back to start--instead of 20 squats do 10 (or fewer if necessary), do modified pushups, do the circuit twice instead of thrice, etc. Stretch afterwards. Work your way up to the full thing 3x. You can starting lifting before you do 3 rounds of full pushups but for someone who is really out of shape, I think that routine is a good start for flexibility, strength, and a bit of cardio.

I'd also suggest using a light bar if you have access to one.